FARM NEWS: Finally had a chance to dig those sweet potatoes, so here they come! Because we don’t always “grade” them, at times you will get large/medium sized potatoes which you are used to seeing, but at other times you may get small, thin ones which are just the “baby” potatoes. They are just as good to eat, usually we wash/scrub them, but leave the skin on, and roast them whole in the oven with some oil and salt. Sort of like a sweet potato fry, without the chopping! Green beans are also loving the cool weather and the collards, which are nearly as big as elephant ears!

Monday, September 17, 2012

9TH ANNUAL LONG ISLAND GARLIC FESTIVAL

Saturday and Sunday,
September 29th and 30th, 10am-6pm

Garlic lovers united for a celebration of food, farming, and fun! Long Island's ONLY Garlic Festival, Bring the family for tours of the farm, information on organic farming and sustainable living, and grow your own garlic workshops.

CLICK HERE to find out more information and see pictures of past festivals!

GLEANING

Sunday, October 14th, 10am-12pm

Join us as we head out into the fields and pick vegetables that have been left behind in the field to donate to those less fortunate than we are. After we harvest it, the Long Island Cares truck takes it away to food pantries across Long Island. Each year we donate thousands of pounds of produce. Come out and join us for this Biblical ritual which still makes a difference to people, even today! Free.

FALL AFTERSCHOOL FARMER PROGRAM (AGES 5-12)

Wednesdays in October, 4:30-6pm

This after-school program will foster a love for the earth, teach children where their food comes from, and encourage them to appreciate their connection with a local farm. Children arrive on the farm and are welcomed with a fresh, healthy farm snack. With many opportunities for fun, learning and exploration, they will be working in the garden, harvesting vegetables on the farm, cooking from the garden, working with the animals, and more! Choose Wednesdays (Oct 3-24)

FEE: Classes are $15 per child or $50 for 4-class session. Additional children from same family just $10. FREE FOR CSA MEMBERS.

PUMPKIN FESTIVAL

Weekends in October, 8am-6pm

Enjoy roasted sweet corn and squash, fresh-squeezed lemonade, organic hot dogs and more. Pick out a pumpkin and some beautiful fall mums, and enjoy our live music every weekend as you try our homegrown Farm fare. Time will fly by as the kids disappear into the many attractions including our pedal kart track, maze, and lavender labyrinth, and friendly farm animals.

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Indian Cooking class on Saturday was great! Using fresh CSA veggies, Mukti taught us how to prepare several Indian dishes. Everyone enjoyed a feast after the lesson!

Mukti offers many different kinds of authentic Indian Cooking classes, all using high quality ingredients. Below is Mukti's contact information if you would like to inquire about her fall class schedule.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Twelve CSA members joined Mukti Banerjee, of Mukti’s
Kitchen, this Saturday for an Indian cooking demonstration with the produce
from this week’s share. After a very stormy morning, the group gathered in
Mukti’s backyard around a big table piled high with vegetables and fruit. Mukti
opened the lesson with a masala tea, a black tea spiced with cinnamon,
cardamom, clove, and ginger. A few CSA members helped with the chopping of the
onions, potatoes, yams, radishes, eggplant, and fruit.

Mukti sauteeing red onions for masala

Mukti began with a discussion of the Indian core spices –
cumin, black cumin, mustard, fenugreek, clove, cardamom, mace, star anise, and
cinnamon. The first five are combined to make Mukti’s “5 spices” blend.Then began the making of the “masala”, which
in Hindi means “mixture”. She placed safflower oil in a skillet and when the
oil was hot, added the five spices and then two chopped red onions, explaining
that she always uses red onion rather than other onions in her Indian cooking. When the red onions were softened, she placed
them in a blender, along with ginger, garlic, a whole tomato sliced in
quarters, and a handful of cilantro. She pureed the masala in a blender until
smooth, adding that red chiles could also be added at this point if a spicier
masala was desired. In addition, this masala could be used in a variety of
dishes, could also serve as a dipping sauce, and could be made ahead of time
and refrigerated.

Vegetable Masala

Next, a cast iron wok was presented, and the vegetable
preparation began. Mukti placed fennel, cumin, black cumin, mustard, and asafoetida (dark
amber resin which comes from the dried sap from the stem and roots of wild
fennel) in heating oil, and then added chopped potatoes and yams. These were
sauteed for 5 to 10 minutes, and then quartered radishes were put into the mix
with a sprinkle of sea salt. As the vegetables cooked, Mukti explained that the
addition of roasted and then ground spices added right after cooking provided a
great “kick”. In a small skillet, she toasted the five spices, and then ground
them in a coffee grinder. To finish the dish, she added chopped red pepper and
stirred it into the hot mixture, then removed the vegetables from the heat and
sprinkled chopped cilantro and the toasted spice blend. Her last touch was a
drizzle of ghee on the top of each dish.

Radish greens - almost gone!

Other
dishes included a saute of chopped radish greens with garlic and black cumin,
and a fruit chaat , which combined fresh chunks of peach and plum with chopped
cilantro, freshly grated ginger, and a sprinkle of the five spices. Mukti said
that honey or lemon could be added to the chaat as well for a different twist,
and that any greens could be substituted for the radish greens.

After
the dishes were completed, the group sat down for a tasting. All in attendance
were amazed at the depth of the fruit chaat flavor, the freshness of the
greens, and the delicious and interesting flavor of the vegetables, all of
which were perfectly cooked and not at all mushy. Questions were asked, mainly
focused on “what do I need to do this at home?”.

Mukti
teaches private cooking classes, and can be reached at muktiskitchen@gmail.com and
www.meetup.com/muktiskitchen.